Thursday, April 14, 2011

International Expert on Invasive Species and Parasites to Lecture April 18

CHESTERTOWN, MD—One of the world’s leading experts on invasive species and parasites, David Bruce Conn, will present “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Planet: Parasites and Invasive Species on the Move” when he visits Washington College Monday afternoon, April 18. The talk will begin at 4 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, the Toll Science Center on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Conn will share research on some of the most interesting and threatening invasive species, their ingenious strategies for catching a ride, and the environmental consequences of their success. Sponsored by the Joseph H. McLain ’37 Lecture Series, the talk is free and open to the public.

Dr. Conn is Dean of the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Berry College and an Associate in Invertebrate Zoology at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. As a Jefferson Science Fellow he serves as an advisor to the Office of International Health & Biodefense at the U.S. Department of State.

Conn’s research related to parasitic diseases and biological invasions includes international collaborations in Poland, Canada, Ireland, Spain, and Australia, as well as the Czech Republic where he has worked as a Fulbright Senior Specialist.He has lectured around the globe, authored more than 300 publications and served on the editorial boards of four international journals. He is past president of two international scientific societies—the American Microscopical Society and American Society of Parasitologists, an organization of scientists from 50 countries who study parasitic diseases.